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Strawberry Bars

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Strawberry Bars are such a sweet summer dessert! A delicious and easy no bake take along dessert to bring to all your BBQs and parties!

 

main image for strawberry bars

 

If there’s one easy recipe that reminds me of my Grandma, it’s this one. Perfectly sweet strawberries, marshmallows, cream, and butter. 

My grandma made this for me whenever we’d come to visit and let me tell you, when I first made it for my husband and friends, they were raving!

Thank you grandma for being an inspiration! These strawberry crumb bars are just as delicious as I remember them being as a kid.

I love that this strawberry crumb bars recipe uses all simple ingredients. I’ve almost always got all of these in my fridge all summer so it’s such an easy whip up!

I also love that these strawberry crumble bars are perfect for parties. No rolling or baking. Just simple fresh ingredients with a rich creamy burst of flavor! 

And if you’re going to make a strawberry bars recipe, you’ll want to make one that is super easy! 

If you’ve got fresh strawberries on hand, then you’ve got to try this delicious strawberry bar recipe for an easy summer dessert.

 

graham cracker crust in a 9 inch pan

 

What Ingredients are in Strawberry Bars?

Strawberry Season just got better! Fresh strawberry bars are the perfect summer dessert.

  • Graham Crackers: Crush graham crackers as they’ll make your strawberry bars crust.
  • Butter: You can use melted butter so you don’t need to wait for the butter to soften!
  • Heavy Whipping Cream: It’s important that you make your own whipping cream so that it’s not too sweet.
  • Vanilla: The vanilla adds that light taste of vanilla extract to flavor the whipping cream base.
  • Marshmallows: Marshmallows are your sweetener and thickener. You won’t need any added sugar.
  • Milk: You can use any milk you have in your fridge.
  • Strawberries: Puree the strawberries to get the right texture and consistency for the dessert bars.

Pro Tips:

  • Use a food processor to puree strawberries to get the right consistency for the sweet strawberry filling.
  • If you don’t have enough strawberries, you could also try mixing in blueberries for strawberry blueberry crumb bars.

 

marshmallows in a pot, ready to be melted down

 

How to Make Strawberry Bars

Follow these simple directions for a fresh strawberry dessert. Serve with a scoop of ice cream for an extra delicious treat!

  1. Create Crumb Crust: Combine the graham crackers and butter to create the buttery crumble crust.
  2. Whip Cream: Vanilla and whipped cream get mixed until stiff peaks form.
  3. Heat Marshmallows and Milk: Use a large pan to melt the marshmallows and milk until smooth.
  4. Layer and Chill: Mix strawberries, whipped cream, and marshmallow mixture and then place on crust layer. Don’t forget to top with buttery crumb topping before chilling until firm!

Pro Tips:

  • You’ll use the same graham cracker mixture for your crumb topping as you did for the crust.
  • Do not add extra sugar to the whipping cream. It won’t be sweet but it’ll be combined with the strawberries and marshmallows.
  • Do not slice right away! Allow the strawberry bars to chill and and set or they will not work at all!
  • Line your casserole dish with non-stick foil or parchment paper to keep your bars from sticking!
  • I haven’t used strawberry jam or frozen strawberries but if you do, let me know how it turns out!

 

melted marshmallows with strawberry sauce added

 

How to Store Strawberry Bars

You can store strawberry bars in the fridge, or in the freezer.

Because these bars use fresh ingredients, to prevent spoiling, they’ll need to be stored in the fridge. 

If you store them in the freezer, they have more of an ice cream consistency and be a yummy cool treat on a hot summer day. 

Be sure to use an airtight container or cover them tightly with plastic wrap.

 

strawberry marshmallow mixture melted with whipped cream added

 

How Long Do Strawberry Bars Last?

If you store the strawberry bars in the fridge, they should last for up to 5 days.

If storing strawberry bars in the freezer will keep them fresh for up to 3 months.

These strawberry bars are also an easy make ahead dessert because they can be made up to 24 hours before serving.

 

 

What to Make with Strawberries

Say you’ve recently been to a strawberry farm and picked your own strawberries, or just found a really awesome sale at the store.

Now you’ve got so many strawberries that you need to use up! Well don’t worry! There’s no shortage of desserts with strawberries you can make!

So after you finish up making these strawberry bars, try these other similar recipes too!

 

additional graham cracker crumbs placed on top of

 

How to Store Strawberries in the Fridge

The farmer’s markets with their fresh fruit cannot be resisted on these summer days! Here’s how to get your strawberries to last longer.

  1. Don’t wash them until you’re going to eat them! They’ll go bad faster.
  2. Don’t cut them. Whole berries last longer than cut strawberries.
  3. Line an airtight container with paper towels. This will absorb any extra moisture.
  4. Lay strawberries in a single layer and seal the container.
  5. Place the container of juicy strawberries in the fridge.
  6. Watch them carefully. If a strawberry starts to go bad, remove it to help preserve the others.

You can use this process to preserve any of your fresh berries. Don’t forget to check the grocery stores! Sometimes they’ve got great deals!

If you’ve already cut the strawberries up, try pairing with a little lemon zest or lemon juice. These things should help the strawberries to keep.

 

crumb bars removed from dish and cut into 9 bars

 

How Long Do Strawberries Last?

When stored as written above, strawberries will last up to 7 days.

The quicker you use them up, the more fresh strawberry flavor they’ll have.

 

zoomed out side view of single strawberry bar on a plate

 

Can Dogs Eat Strawberries?

Absolutely! Strawberries are a healthy treat for you and they’re a healthy treat for your dogs too.

Strawberries are chock full of good fiber and Vitamin C. You and your dog both need those things to survive!

Of course, strawberries also have a lot of sugar so be sure to serve them in moderation.

And do not feed your dogs any strawberry desserts for best results. 

While delicious, they’re often full of things that dogs should not be eating like butter, white sugar, flour, etc.

 

single strawberry bar on a plate with a forkful

 

Strawberry Bars are a delicious and easy to make dessert! They’re perfectly sweet, quick to make, and the perfect addition to your summer strawberry rotation!

 

Yield: 9 servings or 16 small servings

Strawberry Bars

single strawberry bar on a plate with a forkful

Strawberry Bars are such a sweet summer dessert! A delicious and easy take along dessert to bring to all your BBQs and parties!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Inactive Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Instructions

  1. Line a 9x9 casserole dish with non stick foil or parchment paper. Trust me, it makes removing from pan and slicing easier.
  2. In a small bowl, combine graham crackers and butter. Mixture does not need to be super buttery, crumbly is fine.
  3. Press mixture into bottom of casserole dish. Reserve 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top. Set aside.
  4. Whip up whipping cream with vanilla until stiff peaks, set aside. DO NOT ADD EXTRA SUGAR.
  5. In a large non-stick sauce pan, add marshmallows and milk and melt down until smooth stirring regularly.
  6. Once marshmallows are melted and smooth, remove from heat let cool for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
  7. Once cooled fold in pureed strawberries. Mix well.
  8. Add whipped cream to strawberry marshmallow mixture.
  9. Pour marshmallow mixture into graham cracker crust.
  10. Top with reserved graham cracker mixture.
  11. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
  12. Slice and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 102mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 2g
Originally Posted: May 15, 2014

Photos & Text Updated: August 4, 2018

Photos & Text Updated: January 31, 2023

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Natasha

Wednesday 27th of May 2020

This tastes delicious! I followed the recipe exactly but mine came out much darker red than the photo and definitely not as firm as the photo looks. It’s still really delicious but I think next time I’ll maybe add more marshmallows or whipping cream?

Janelle

Thursday 27th of August 2020

The color will depend on how ripe your strawberries are. The firmness, add more marshmallows or less cream. :) Thanks for your question.

Sharon

Wednesday 12th of September 2018

Do you bake the grahamcracker mixture first? and at what temperature?

Janelle

Thursday 27th of August 2020

I don't bake mine. However if you wanted to bake for 5 minutes to help it firm you certainly could.

Ila

Wednesday 12th of September 2018

Are you using fresh or frozen strawberries?

Janelle

Thursday 27th of August 2020

I use fresh. frozen will be more liquid and you'll want to add more marshmallows.

Karen

Wednesday 12th of September 2018

The memories this dessert brought back! My mom made this quite often. I hadn’t thought about it for years. Thanks for posting. Can’t wait to make it.

Janelle

Tuesday 5th of March 2019

Karen, I love it when recipes bring back good memories from the past. Your mom must have been a fantastic cook! Thank you for trying my recipe and hope you enjoy it!

Leah

Sunday 12th of November 2017

I just made this dessert and it has been in the fridge for four hours. It hasn't set. I wonder about the measurement of marshmallows...

"1 (10 ounce) bag of large marshmallows - not the GIANT ones."

1 bag of marshmallows (10 oz). ?? I had someone pick up the ingredients and they purchased a 1 kg bag of marshmallows. So, I had to measured out 10 oz, which is 1 and 1/4 cup. I just looked up marshmallows packages and a small bag of marshmallows is 16 oz. I suspect the measurement on this recipe is incorrect and if followed by the oz. measurement it likely will not thicken.

TerryAnn

Monday 19th of December 2022

@Janelle, Loved your story. I am walking this road this Christmas and my written copy sounds very similar to yours. My Grandma called it Strawberry fluff. Yours is the first on-line with the correct ingredients. How fun to throw a dab of this with a pinch of that. Loved your memories.

Janelle

Sunday 19th of November 2017

Hi Leah! A 10 ounce bag of marshmallows is a standard size here in the US. I'm guessing that since you bought a 1kg bag, you aren't from the US. Unfortunately, your conversion is for liquid, not solid. 10 liquid ounces is 1 1/4 cups, however 10 ounces of marshmallows, which weigh less than liquid is actually 2 cups of marshmallows or 20 large (not giant) marshallows. I'd even toss one or two extras in there just for good measure. Due to there not being enough marshmallows in your bars, they will not thicken but remain as soup. :( I'm so sorry this didn't turn out for you, however I hope you'll try again! They are one of my favorites!

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